


Hanahaki One Shot

by reesespuffs1



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hanahaki Disease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 23:12:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18860878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reesespuffs1/pseuds/reesespuffs1
Summary: I've been into drarry for a while, and a couple hanahaki ideas popped up. So... here ya go.





	Hanahaki One Shot

Draco didn’t remember when he started the coughing. By that, i mean that he couldn’t remember a time without it. However, he did remember the very moment he started coughing.

He had started coughing normally in first year, when his offer of friendship was rejected by a certain green-eyed wizard. He had thought he had come down with something, like a cold. It went on for years though, despite the alarming amount of potions he took for it.

He started coughing up blood during fourth year, as he watched Harry fight his way through the Triwizard Tournament, getting through mainly on luck. It was then, when Draco realized he would never be good enough for this righteous boy, despite most of his own actions being part of a facade.

Sixth year was when he really lost hope. This was when he started coughing up the flowers. He’d only heard of this disease in myths, and there had never, ever been a cure. Every documented case, the hurt party always died from asphyxiation or heart-break. Or worse. Both.

He hadn’t been expecting to survive the war. He expected to be killed by Voldemort, or someone from Harry’s own side. At one point during a coughing fit, in the final battle, he desperately wished that Harry himself could be the one to off him.

Unfortunately for him, he lasted, and was forced back to Hogwarts for eighth year, tortured by watching Harry from afar as the "Saviour" recuperated from all his pain. Every smile, every frown, and every time Harry told a joke or read a book, Draco coughed up either forget-me-nots or heliotropes. True love, memories and devotion.

Eventually, Draco noticed what the flowers were, when he was in Myrtle’s bathroom. He had a break down. Probably worse than 6th year. He laughed bitterly, until it turned into another coughing fit. Through the coughs, he suddenly began crying, shocking himself more than it probably should have. Myrtle was, of course, very worried, but Draco was already way too gone.

After the break down, Draco was even quieter than before. He kept to himself, with a dark handkerchief in his pocket at all time.

Towards the end of the school year, Harry started talking to Draco. It was unexpected, to say the least, and it surprised everyone, even Hermione and Ron. During that period, Draco’s condition slightly slowed down, where he didn’t have as many coughing fits, but he could still feel vines and stems tightening around his lungs.

One afternoon Harry and Draco were by the bank of the lake. Draco was sitting against a tree reading a book, and Harry was just lying down next to him, staring at the sky. After almost an hour of silence, Harry spoke out of the blue.

“Hey Draco. What are you doing after we graduate?”

Besides dying?

“I’m not sure, honestly. I’ve never thought about it.” He never thought he would have made it this far.

Harry rose an eyebrow.

“Uh… Would you… Like to move in with me?”

Draco looked like a deer in headlights. This was completely random, and it made absolutely no sense. Why would Harry even want to spend that much time with someone like Draco? He was a Death Eater. He had the mark. No one but Harry even dared to talk to him. There was no possible way Draco could accept.

Before Draco knew it, he was coughing again. Since it hadn’t happened in awhile, Draco had completely forgotten to bring his handkerchief. When he realized what was happening he rushed to get up. However, Harry, with his overly caring self, grabbed Draco’s arm before he could run away and hide in his dorm.

“Are… Are you ok?”

Draco could not answer. There was already a bunch of flowers pooling in his hands and he just needed to get away from Harry. He knew this was a bad idea-

“Oh!”

It was too late. There were too much petals. Harry definitely saw and Draco couldn’t stop coughing.

“Draco… I-I. H-How long?”

There was a lull in the coughing fit where he looked at Harry with tears in his eyes.

“Please answer me.”

Draco debated his options. What would he benefit from lying to the one he’s going to die for?

“Since… Since first year…”

Harry’s eyes widened.

“You’ve been coughing flowers since first year?”

Draco shook his head.

“I’ve been coughing since first year. I started coughing flowers in sixth year.”

Harry looked shocked.

“Two years! Neville’s told me about the Hanahaki disease. Were you coughing blood before?” After a nod of confirmation, Harry continued. “I can’t believe you’ve been through this much. Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I… I thought I was going to die before I could…” “Draco…”

Draco sighed and shrugged. He coughed a little, forget-me-nots flying over the sides of his hand.

“Wh-who is it? The person you love?”

Draco coughed violently and looked at Harry as if he was dumb. Clearly he was, since he hadn’t figured it out yet.

“Who do you think?” He forced out the words.

Harry’s mouth opened. He looked at Draco in wonder and surprise.

The blonde misinterpreted the look, and with a tight chest, ran away, successfully this time, coughing up both types of flowers at the same time.

That had never happened before.

Harry stood, about to run after him, but for some reason stayed put, as if something was keeping him stuck in place.

The next day, Harry still hadn’t seen Draco anywhere. The boy apparently never went back to the dorms and Harry had lost his map a long time ago. He worried highly, and when he wasn’t in class, he was pacing around the castle in search of Draco.

It wasn’t until after supper that Harry even thought of it, but when he did, he ran straight to Myrtle’s bathroom.

The sight terrified him.

Draco lying unconscious on the wet floor, flowers like bushes around his head and the blood looking like some kind of sickly soil. Harry reacted immediately. He noticed Draco was still breathing, and scooped him up in his arms.

He wished he could apparate, as he ran at basically full speed to the infirmary. He cast a wandless patronus so that Madame Pomfrey would expect him, and was greeted with a worried school nurse and an empty bed.

“Harry! What’s wrong with Malfoy?”

“He’s-” He was cut off by Draco coughing unconsciously and a petal flying out. Harry layed the boy on the bed on his side and looked at Pomfrey, distressed.

“Oh my. I’ve never actually seen a Hanahaki case before. This is quite a surprise...”

“Yes. It’s a shocker. Can you do something?” “I’m afraid it’s quite hopeless from a medical standpoint. Even if it had been an earlier stage of this disease, there is no medicine for this. No spell or potion has ever been created to cure this.”

Harry looked at Draco, devastated.

“If I had known...” “If you had known, Mr. Potter, it would not have affected anything. Mr. Malfoy’s condition can not be treated. It is fatal, and would have been, even if we had known any sooner.”

Harry clenched his fist.

“What if the person he’s in love with… loves him back?”

Madame Pomfrey was silent for a beat.

“Well. All documented cases end in tragedies, and none suggest that the other party showed interest. I suppose what would happen would be quite unpredictable. If you will excuse me, I will alert the Headmistress of the situation.”

She then left. If she stopped with Minerva to have a cup of tea before alarming the headmistress, no one need know. She knew they needed time.

Harry was left alone by Draco’s side. He sat in a chair by the bed and ran a shaking hand through Draco's tinted-red hair. Harry cringed and cleaned Draco’s blood away with a wave of his wand. If Draco didn’t make it, Harry didn’t know what he would do.

He supposed he was an idiot. Hermione would have told him exactly that. Asking Draco to move in with him before he even asked him out. Harry was very backwards. He had felt so comfortable with Draco the past term, and Harry had found himself falling fast and hard for the blonde.

Apparently, his feelings were reciprocated ten-fold.

He wished he could say that Draco at least looked like he was at peace, but the boy was clearly in pain, and he was barely even breathing. The flowers were probably squeezing his lungs.

Harry wished desperately for Draco to wake up, so that he could kiss him and see what would happen. Because Harry did not know if he could live without that boy.

Amazingly, as if by miracle, Draco’s eyes fluttered open.

Harry laughed wetly, and only then realized he was even crying.

“Draco...” “What Potter?” His voice was sharp but strained.

“How could you keep this from me? This is such a big deal.”

Silence.

“Merlin. I would’ve helped. Would have loved to.”

“No... cure...”

Harry sniffled.

“There is no happy ending to any of the stories because the patient was always in love with the wrong person. If you had told me, or if I found out sooner, I would have told you that I love you as well. So in that case, all the previous stories could be bull, and I could kiss you right now. Both to see if it would work, and also because I’ve wanted to do it for so long.”

Harry smiled sheepishly at Draco’s shock. He leaned forward, capturing Draco’s lips in a warm and tender kiss. Nothing happened immediately, but a few seconds after they separated, Draco reached up to his chest.

It burned. His lungs felt like they were literally on fire and it took all of him not to scream for bloody murder. Harry stared on, confused and worried as Draco clutched at his rib cage and bit his lip to keep in the sound.

It got very hot very quickly, until suddenly there was a bright flash in the room, coming from Draco, and the boy finally sagged down onto the hospital bed.

He took a shaky breath and it hitched immediately. Tears started flowing from his eyes and Draco did nothing to hide them.

“Draco? What’s wrong? Didn’t it work?” Draco nodded, crying uncontrollably.

“I-It’s been so long since I could breathe. This is amazing.” Draco sat up. “Thank you Harry.”

He pulled Harry glasses and tugged him down by his shirt, smashing their lips together in a heart-warming, soul-hugging kiss.

Draco had never felt so free.


End file.
